Ice bag



March 23, 1943. P, s, MADSEN 2,314,650

ICE BAG Filed July 5, 1940 Patented Mar. 23, 1943 ICE BAIG Paul S. Madsen, Bethany, (Jonm, assignor to The Seamless Rubber Company, New Haven, Conn, a. corporation of Connecticut Application July 5, 1940, Serial No. 344,042

1 Claim.

This invention relates to ice bags made of flexible elastic material, and employed for therapeutical purposes.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved article of this class.

Another purpose I have in View is the provision of an improved form of bag having an enlarged scope of utility in that it may be used very satisfactorily as a hot water bag for imparting heat treatments to various parts of the body, as Well as an ice bag which will receive fairly large pieces of ice to be used for decreasing the body temperature.

Another object is to provide improved means for retaining the cap or stopper of the ice bag so that the same will not be misplaced or lost. Devices for this general purpose are well known, but I provide a construction which is new in detail and has certain definite advantages over cap retainers such as have been previously used.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a front face view of an ice bag embodying my invention, showing the cap lifted off of the receptacle mouth and placed to one side;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical section of the upper part of the article shown in Fig. 1, showing the cap in place on the receptacle mouth the section being on line 2'2 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 3 is a detail, showing on a still large scale certain parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail, showing on a larger scale certain parts illustrated in Fig. 4.

As previously indicated, the bag of my invention is well adapted for use either as an ice bag which receives pieces of ice and is applied to various parts of the human body, including the head, or as a hot water bag, in whichcase the receptacle is filled with hot water, the receptacle mouth and cap structure being such as to receive the ice pieces or blocks or the hot water and provide a satisfactory water-tight closure. For the purpose of providing a receptacle well adapted to these different functions I prefer to provide a relatively thin walled flat rubber bag having a shape such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It will be noted from these views that the bag l9 has a main portion In which is substantially rectangular. To this portion Ill is joined (at the upper part of the bag, as shown in Fig. 1) an extension H formed integrally with the main body and having in general what may be termed a triangular shape. This extension H is the portion which is utilized for the location of a filler mouth l2 having applicable thereto a cap l 3,said filler mouth l2 being located about centrally of the extension II. It will also be observed that while the main body Ill has a predetermined depth, the extension II is of definitely less depth, having a front wall I4 which is displaced inwardly relatively to the front wall of part III", there being a rounded transverse shoulder l5 formed in and by the front wall of the bag in the region where the front wall of the main body joins the front wall of the extension II. It will also be observed that the rear wall N5 of the extension or portion H is directly in line with and a continuation of the rear wall of part W The filler mouth I2, which is integral with the rubber body, is preferably formed as a relatively thick annular wall projecting forwardly from extension II and of greater thickness than wall I4 so as to make it relatively stiffer. The projection of mouth l2 from the front face of extension II is preferably such as to carry the front end of the filler mouth somewhat beyond the plane in which the front Wall of body ll! is located (Fig. 2).

For the purpose of enabling the bag to be con veniently suspended on a hook or the like, or otherwise held in position, upper and lower tabs I1 and I8, respectively, are formed integrally with the bag. The upper tab 11, which is provided with a perforation H3, is joined to the bag integrally at the upper margin of the latter in a location where a forwardly curved portion l6 of wall portion it joins the front wall M of extension ll. The lower tab l8, which has a perforation 20, is joined to the body portion Ill in a suitable location, preferably midway of the depth of the portion Ill I The rubber mouth portion I2 is provided with a suitable liner or bushing 2| that is preferably made of sheet metal and preferably formed to present inner and outer walls confining and clinched to the annular mouth portion. In the particular case shown, the sheet metal member 2| has an outer exposed portion 22 at the outer side of the mouth portion, an integral seatforming rim portion 23, and an inner stamped threaded portion 24 into which the cap 13 can be screwed. The threaded portion 24 preferably extends inwardly past mouth portion l2 to a certain extent, and is there provided with an inwardly turned flange 25.

The cap it is preferably made of Bakelite or other suitable thermoplastic material, and is formed with a crowned or arched top 26 having an outstanding rim 2? suitably knurled at the periphery, as shown at 28. The cap has a cylindrical inwardly extending wall 29 threaded at the exterior in order to engage the threads pressed in the liner member 2!. Between the lateral flange 21 of the cap and the opposing portion of the liner 2| is a rubber washer 30. This washer is frictionally held in place on the cap so as to maintain its position on the latter when the cap is removed from the receptacle mouth; and the washer is adapted to be compressed between flange 21 and seat 23 and aids materially in making the closure water-tight.

For the purpose of preventing loss or misplacement of the cap, the latter is attached to the bag by a chain 3| or like flexible connector, which connector is of novel form and arrangement, as will now appear. grally with the bag in a region adjacent and im-' mediately above the upper part of mouth l2. This lug is in a plane perpendicular to thegeneral plane of the bag, and is integrally joined to the curved wall portion H previously mentioned, and to the front wall l4 at the upper part of the bag. The lug extends downwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, so that its lower edge has a location such a that shown in Fig. 2, where a portion of the lug has a position contiguous to but above the threaded inner portion of the liner 2|. Engaged in a hole 33 in lug 32 in such a manner as to be capable of swinging in a forward and rearward direction, is a ring member or eye 34. This ring member 34 is made of a small metal rod having its ends 35 brought into proximity to each other. Surrounding the ring member 34 is a link 36 of a bead chain, which in thi instance is the kind of flexible connector employed. The ring member 34 is provided near the extremities of the rod of which it is formed with small bent-up lugs 31 whereby the bead chain link 36 is prevented from working out of the slot in the eye or ring member 34.

The bead chain connector is made in two sections which are of approximately equal length, namely, an inner section 3 I connected to the ring member 34 and an outer section 31 connected to the cap 83 at the under side of the latter. The sections 31 and 3N are interconnected in a removable manner by a sheet metal coupling device 38, such as commonly used in the construction of bead chains. In connecting the bead chain to the cap, a similar sheet metal coupling member 39 is employed, this coupling member being received in an inwardly extending integral socket 40 formed on the top of the cap i3. The coupling member 39 is attached to the end of section 3| previously mentioned, and is cemented in place in socket 40 by a layer 4! of suitable cement. The

link 42, which engages coupling member 39, has r swiveled relation to said coupling member, and therefore it will be understood that the bead chain has a swiveled connection with the socket portion formed at the under surface of the cap. It will be understood that by the construction described the cap is attached-to the bag so as to be retained against misplacement or loss. When the cap is in the operative position the flexible connection is entirely concealed within the bag, but when the cap is detached from the mouth or filler it can be removed to a sufficient distance from the filler, as indicated in Fig. l, for example, so as not to interfere in any way with the filling operation. The flexible connector is attached to the bag in a very convenient location, and the point of connection of the connector to the cap is also a convenient one. The lug by means of which the connector is secured to the bag within the latter may be readily formed as an integral part of the bag, in the molding of the bag, said lug being at the marginal part of the bag body, and in the space between the front and rear walls of the body at a point adjacent th periphery of the filler opening.

of the ends of the bead chain permits the chain sections to be separated, which is of distinct advantage as regards the replacement of parts should there be breakage. If, for example, the cap be broken beyond repair, it can be detached and a new cap coupled on. As manufactured,

A rubber lug 32 is formed inteeach of the caps is furnished with an appurtenant chain section, and in the process of manufacturing the bag this provides for assemblage of the cap at a convenient point or stage.

I The'bag can advantageously be provided at the sides with integral slotted lateral tabs 43. These provide for the attachment of the bag to the body of the patient by the use of a suitable tape or tapes passing through the slots.

It is an advantageous feature of my new bag that while it has an outwardly projecting filler neck on its front face toward one end, which greatly facilitates filling the bag, either with ice cubes or pieces, or with water, but which prevents use of that part of the bag against the human body for causing transfer of heat in one or the other directions, the rear wall of the bag substantially throughout its entire area can be used to effect such heat transfer because such rear wall lies in a single plane and is substantially devoid of projection or obstruction of any kind. As far as the front face of the bag is concerned, however, substantially all of that portion of extended area lying below the transverse rounded shoulder I5 is smooth and unobstructed and available to be placed against the body in a comfortable manner for heat transfer purposes.

While I have shown and described one form of ice bag constructed in accordance with my invention, it will be understood that the invention can be embodied in many different forms, and that many changes and modifications in the organization of part and in the details can be made Without departing from the principles of my invention or the scope of the claim.

What vI claim is:

A bag for therapeutic purposes adapted to hold liquid or pieces of ice, having a body with elastic flexible walls,'said body having a shallow main portion extending to one end and a hollow extension at the other end in communication with the main portion but of less depth, the rear wall of said extension being in line with the rear wall of the main portion, the front wall of the extension being substantially parallel to the rear wall thereof but being offset rearwardly with respect to the front wall of the main portion and joined thereto by a rounded wall portion extending across the front face of the bag and providing a rounded shoulder in that region, a relatively short wide filler neck wall extending from the front wall of the extension at the middle portion of the latter, said neck wall having a substantially fixed relation to the walls of the bag and projecting at its forward end slightly beyond the plane of the front face of the main portion, the rear end of the neck wall being integrally joined to the front wall of the extension around an opening therein which is spaced at some distance from the rear wall of the bag to permit the introduction of ice pieces, a reinforcing and stiffening member having spaced inner and outer walls between which substantially the entire filler neck wall is confined, and a filler cap engaged with said reinforcing and stiffening member to close the mouth of the filler neck.

PAUL s. MADSEN. 

